Chapter 2: Things Mia Hates and Voices from the Past

Even after regaining consciousness, Mia continued to lie in bed, her limbs splayed sloppily across its surface.

“I feel... terribly ill.”

She had no appetite, and her lunch remained untouched. Her mind was occupied by the nightmare. She wanted to believe it was a nightmare. However, the vivid intensity of the memories and the existence of the bloody diary suggested otherwise.

“Ugh...”

She groaned and rolled from one side of the bed to the other. Then, she groaned again and rolled back. All the while, she kept thinking and thinking. She thought long and hard.

For a whole thirty minutes.

“I feel... terribly hungry.”

Her stomach growled. Barely an hour had passed since she’d turned down lunch.

“Ah-hah,” she said with a dainty clap. “I remember hearing that sweets are good for thinking about things.”

Having had what was undoubtedly an excellent idea, her face lit up as she quickly hopped off the bed and scampered out the door.

The emperor’s family, Mia included, lived in a castle known as the Whitemoon Palace. Its halls were adorned with green, gold, and white moonstone, while lavish ornaments lined the walls. She walked through it, taking in the sights. It was an empire at the peak of its opulence, but, she knew, on the brink of decline.

Eventually, she came to one of the castle’s four dining rooms, the White Night Dining Hall. In the large room was a man; he gave her a puzzled look.

“Why, if it isn’t Princess Mia. What might I do for you, Your Highness?”

He was a bear of a man with a thick, fluffy beard. Mia’s eyes widened a little in surprise as she recognized him immediately.

I do recall... that this man is the head chef whom I fired.